► First details of VW’s ID. Polo GTI revealed
► 223bhp, front-wheel drive and Herbie kerb appeal
► Confirmed for summer 2026 reveal
More details about Volkswagen’s first electric GTI – the upcoming ID. Polo GTI – have been revealed after camouflaged versions arrived on stage at the 2025 Munich motor show.
Even beneath the camouflage of this near-production ready prototype, you can see that much of the design will be carried over from the ID.GTI concept that was revealed two years prior. The production ID. Polo GTI launches with a squat stance, shallow headlights and intricate wheel designs all being carried over.
Volkswagen’s future design ethos – ‘Pure Positive’ – is about cars that are both, er… pure (obviously) but also friendly. How can a performance car be friendly? VW design head Andreas Mindt says he has Herbie in mind for how he wants to portray future GTIs, including this one.
‘I love this humble little car, and yet it was one that beat Ferraris,’ he smiles. ‘This idea is what I loved – this friendly car that is then faster [than all the others].’
Mindt points to an amount of over-aggression in performance car and hot hatch design, and says it feels over the top. ‘With some hot hatch designs out there, I wouldn’t drive around in them because I’d feel embarrassed.’
Some specifications for the production car have been revealed, too. Like the regular ID. Polo and ID. Cross, the Skoda Epiq and Cupra Raval, the ID. Polo GTI will use the revised and front-wheel drive MEB+ platform.
For the ID. Polo GTI, Volkswagen confirms the car will launch with 223bhp from a single electric motor on the front axle. ‘A pulled car is safer than a pushed car,’ says Mindt. ‘I know going sideways all day long can be really fun, but this way is safer for a wider audience.
‘Another reason why is for regenerative braking,’ adds Mindt. ‘Braking is easier and more efficient with a front-wheel drive car, so you can collect energy better.’
All MEB+ cars (including the ID. Polo GTI) also come with the latest generation of VW’s travel assist (which bundles adaptive cruise, lane-keep and navigation-based data that will slow the car down for corners, junctions etc.), as well as matrix LED headlights and even optional massaging seats.
Bespoke GTI details include a locking differential for the driven wheels, the brand’s Vehicle Dynamics Manager seen on combustion GTIs and R products and something called GTI Experience Control – VW speak for various drive modes operated via a dial in the centre console.
Oh, and the name GTI? Usually it stands for Grand Touring Injection. But, because this is an EV, Volkswagen has tweaked the initials to be Grand Touring Intelligence. Shiver with discomfort at your leisure.
VW has confirmed that the ID. Polo GTI will officially launch in the summer of 2026, where we’ll find out more details.